Photo: Tiado · CC BY-SA 3.0Frost comes to Cardston County more often than to 88% of Canadian towns
Midsummer highs settle at about 24.0°C. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 70% of Canadian towns. June is the wettest month, January the driest. The heating season runs October to May: each of those months averages under 10°C.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals at Carway (25 km south-west).
A year in Cardston County at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Cardston County’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Cardston County feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
194 frost days and 80 days above 20°C a year
From September to June frost is routine, and in December it comes on almost every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 19 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 534 mm of rain and snow a year
4th wettest of 478 towns of 2,500+ in Alberta. On about 65 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
257 cm of snow in a typical year
Snow falls from August to June, most of all in April (about 55 cm). 3rd snowiest of 474 towns of 2,500+ in Alberta.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Heating a home in Cardston County
83% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Measured against 18°C: each day’s shortfall in mean temperature, added over twelve months. Over a year, a home here needs more heating than 62% of Canadian towns.
Living with Cardston County’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jul.
Parks & trails →Averages smooth over blizzards, ice storms, floods and heat waves; Cardston County’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Carway
Carway is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 25 km south-west |
| Station altitude | 1,354 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −38.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 38.0°C |
| Next-nearest location | Lethbridge, 57 km |
How Cardston County compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Alberta.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Cardston County whose figures come from another normals location. Cardston County has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 35–61 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardston County Carway | 24.0°C | −10.9°C | 534 mm |
| Magrath 35 km · Lethbridge | 26.3°C 2.3°C warmer | −12.1°C 1.2°C colder | 373 mm |
| Piikani 147 56 km · Pincher Creek | 24.2°C about the same | −10.4°C 0.5°C milder | 550 mm |
Cardston County weather by month
Month by month, 1991–2020: the usual high, low and mean, the rain and snow, and the snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.9°C | −10.9°C | −5.0°C | 22 mm | 26 cm |
| February | 0.9°C | −10.8°C | −5.1°C | 29 mm | 29 cm |
| March | 4.5°C | −7.0°C | −1.2°C | 36 mm | 38 cm |
| April | 9.4°C | −2.4°C | 3.5°C | 59 mm | 55 cm |
| May | 14.8°C | 2.2°C | 8.6°C | 78 mm | 20 cm |
| June | 18.7°C | 6.0°C | 12.3°C | 108 mm | 2 cm |
| July | 24.0°C | 8.5°C | 16.3°C | 35 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.7°C | 7.8°C | 15.8°C | 38 mm | 2 cm |
| September | 18.2°C | 4.0°C | 11.1°C | 45 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 11.0°C | −1.4°C | 4.8°C | 30 mm | 24 cm |
| November | 4.7°C | −6.2°C | −0.8°C | 31 mm | 32 cm |
| December | 0.4°C | −10.4°C | −5.1°C | 25 mm | 28 cm |
| Year | 10.9°C | −1.7°C | 4.6°C | 534 mm | 257 cm |
December: −37.0°C at its coldest, 21.0°C at its warmest
The month to count on least is February: one year in three its average strays more than 4.3°C from −5.1°C. June moves least, typically by 0.9°C.
Where Cardston County’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Carway, the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
- Comparisons: the towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ across Canada, each on its nearest normals location, without the city totals or the reserves.
- Not on this page: sunshine, which none of ECCC’s 450 locations publishes for 1991–2020, and the town’s own height above sea level, so no figure is adjusted for altitude.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Cardston County’s climate
How warm does Cardston County get in summer?
Expect highs near 24.0°C in July, the hottest month on average.
How cold does Cardston County get in winter?
Overnight lows average −10.9°C in January, the coldest month.
How much rain and snow does Cardston County get?
Some 534 mm falls in a year. Most of it comes in June (108 mm), the least in January (22 mm).
Are these figures for Cardston County itself?
Yes: they are ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Carway, a location inside Cardston County.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Cardston County →
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).